Troy Deeney names Arsenal trio in Premier League XI — SkimNews
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- Arsenal took three of Deeney's 11 selections — Ezri Konsa, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice — with Rice adding an assist in what Deeney called "a proper captain's performance" and Timber getting away with a shirt pull on Alexander Isak that the referee and VAR never examined.
- Bart Verbruggen made a series of saves, including a last-ditch stop that hit him in the face, to preserve Brighton's 1-0 win at Manchester City, with Deeney arguing Brighton should have lost by two or three goals.
- Romeo Lavia was "the only constant" breaking up play for Chelsea in the 60 minutes before Manchester United were reduced to 10 men, and he also provided an assist.
- Johan Manzambi, 21, notched another assist for Aston Villa, was taken off with the Champions League game against Barcelona in mind, and Deeney said Fulham "couldn't really stop him".
- Ollie McBurnie produced goals, assists and a scrappy all-round display for Hull in their draw against Ipswich, epitomising a player and club Deeney says are always overlooked.
- Coventry supplied three names — manager Frank Lampard after the "massive six-pointer" win over Sunderland, Taiwo Awoniyi scoring an "unbelievable solo goal" after Deeney welcomed the striker "back playing", and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto's relentless work rate in the same fixture.
- Tottenham landed two picks: Archie Gray, who scored and defended well against Crystal Palace after a spell of criticism, and Jan Paul van Hecke, who also got a goal and is growing into his role alongside Micky van de Ven.
Why it matters: Coventry's three selections — Lampard as manager, plus Awoniyi and Sakamoto — all trace back to one weekend result, the "massive six-pointer" win over Sunderland. With Deeney saying Awoniyi is why Coventry stay up, this week's award is tied directly to a relegation fight rather than to the league's biggest clubs.
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